This disclosure relates generally to collecting and analyzing data to identify patterns, and more particularly, to network-based systems and methods for analyzing payment transaction data to identify merchants having a recurring payment program.
Computer systems are used to collect and analyze data. In some cases, these computer systems may recognize patterns within any data sets. These patterns may sometimes indicate steps being performed by a party associated with the data sets.
For example, consumers are oftentimes able to use a variety of methods to perform payment transactions to purchase goods and services, including, for example, online monthly subscription services. These methods include use of cash, plastic payment cards, smartphones, and other computing devices operated by users (also known as user computing devices) that are able to provide account data which is used to complete a purchase. In the case of account data being communicated for performing a transaction, a payment processor computing device processes the payment transactions over a processing network. In the case of online subscription services purchases or other purchases, users typically initiate these transactions while not at a merchant physical location (e.g., an online transaction initiated from home, such as to order goods from a merchant website). Such transactions are sometimes also referred to herein as card-not-present transactions (CNP), because a payment card is not physically presented at a merchant location. In these transactions, information regarding the payment card, including an account number and, in many instances, an expiration date for the payment card, are transmitted from a merchant, along with an indicator that the transaction is a CNP transaction.
An “account-on-file” transaction is a type of transaction in which the merchant stores information regarding the user's payment card in a database, then retrieves the stored payment card information and includes it in an authorization request message submitted when processing the transaction. One specific type of account-on-file transaction is a “recurring payment transaction,” which a merchant initiates on a recurring basis for a particular user. In such recurring payment transactions, the merchant stores information regarding the user's payment card in a database, then retrieves the stored payment card information and includes it in each recurring authorization request message.
Another example, in addition to the online subscription services, is a gym membership. Rather than mailing a monthly check for membership with a gym, a user might choose to register a payment card, such as a credit card, a debit card, or a prepaid card, with the gym. Registering the payment card with the gym enables the gym to automatically charge the payment card for the monthly dues on a particular day each month. In some such systems, the merchant stores an account number, an expiration date, and/or other information associated with the payment card and/or user. Given the convenience of this payment model for both merchants and users, it finds use in many other scenarios where a user is a member of a club or subscriber of products or services. Accordingly, multiple merchants may have stored payment card information for the same user. Likewise, any given merchant may have stored payment card information for multiple users.
In addition to recurring payment transactions (e.g., recurring payment programs), merchants may also maintain account-on-file information to facilitate payment card transactions by repeat customers. For example, an online merchant may allow a shopper to create an online account and store account data corresponding to one or more methods of payment. When the shopper is ready to check out and complete a purchase, the shopper may simply select one of the stored payment methods as opposed to having to re-enter their payment card information.
A downside of storing payment card information, however, is that information regarding a payment card is subject to change. For example a user's payment card might expire, causing a new payment card to be issued with a new expiration date while the card number remains the same. In such instances, an authorization request message containing the outdated expiration date is denied by the issuer of the payment card. As a result, the merchant that originally submitted the authorization request is prevented from successfully obtaining payment until the merchant acquires the updated expiration date for the payment card. Due to wide adoption of the account-on-file payment model by merchants and users, it is understandably difficult for a user to update each merchant with new payment card expiration dates. Likewise, it reduces the benefits of the account-on-file payment model to require a merchant to inquire with each user for an updated payment card expiration date prior to submitting each payment authorization request.
In light of the foregoing, at least some known systems may provide merchants with updated user payment information to avoid such recurring payments being denied for stale information. However, to identify the merchants that regularly perform recurring payment transactions is very complex and time-consuming. Therefore, these merchants may not know about these known systems, which prevent these merchants from benefiting of the updating services provided by such known systems. Accordingly, a system that easily identifies merchants that perform recurring payment transactions is desirable.